Sudden Valley Press

Every year since 1990, the Canterbury Poets’ Collective have brought the best poets from around the country to perform their work to a Christchurch audience, alongside established and emerging local talent. 

In addition to our guest readers is our legendary open mic – a place for anyone, from the rawest beginner to the most seasoned of old-hands, to stand up in front of a knowledgeable, enthusiastic crowd, and test their work

Trout fishing is the story of your hope
for what might come –
it is about what you catch, but also always
it is what you think about
when you cast a line towards those shadows
from which solace may be drawn.

from “Why we fish”, by John Allison

Selected by Joanna Preston, this anthology brings together poems from winning and runner-up poets from the last five years of the CPC open mics, from 2017 to 2022 inclusive. A sampling of the  range and scope of the poetic feast we’ve enjoyed over the years, in all its multifarious glory. 

I had a dream where I wondered aloud
what if birds are really our guardians
and they come to us upon our deaths
to tell us what they’ve seen

from “Birds”, by Merissa Foryani